Doctor insights on:
Bilateral Vocal Cord Paralysis In Children

1

Common:
Vocal cord paralysis has numerous causes and can affect speaking, breathing, and swallowing. The left vocal cord is affected twice as often as the right, and females are affected more often than males (3:2). Diagnosis is based on direct visualization. An extensive assessment may be necessary to determine the cause.
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...is a corruption of French "paralise" from Latinized Greek "paralysis." In the old days it meant any kind of persistent weakness. To this day Parkinson's disease is also called "paralysis agitans" which is a Latin translation of Dr. Parkinson's original name for it, the "shaking palsy." We've obviously reborrowed the full form "paralysis" into English as well; today "palsy" is largely obsolete.
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2

Laryngoscopy:
The most common way to diagnose vocal cord paralysis is laryngoscopy in the office. This can be done with a mirror in the mouth, or passing a small bendable telescope through the nose into the throat to look at the larynx. There are fancy electrical tests to measure vocal cord nerve input, but that is difficult and not often used.
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3

Voice:
Hi. Vocal cord paralysis results from damage to one or both recurrent laryngeal nerves (assume 1). This usually results from neck, lung, or mediastinal tumors, or from surgery in that region. The affected vocal cord is paralyzed. This makes vocal intonation with that cord unadjustable, so there is a raspy, somewhat constant tone from the affected cord (the contralateral normal cord works fine).
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6

Please see below.:
Vocal cord paralysis can cause a characteristic breathy voice often accompanied by difficulty swallowing, a weak cough, and feeling short of breath. If both vocal cords are affected, symptoms can include stridor. It can have a variety of causes, and correct treatment depends on the cause.
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8

It depends.:
Depends on the cause, and is it unilateral or bilateral. There are procedures to make the voice pretty normal and to get rid of the other symptoms, but there is no procedure to make the nerve work completely normally.
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9

Vocal cord paralysis:
If your baby's doctor diagnosed "vocal cord paralysis" why hasn't your baby been referred to an ear, nose, and throat doctor - preferably one more used to to caring for babies?
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10

Please see below.:
Vocal cord paralysis can cause a characteristic breathy voice often accompanied by difficulty swallowing, a weak cough, and feeling short of breath. If both vocal cords are affected, symptoms can include stridor. It can have a variety of causes, and correct treatment depends on the cause.
...Read more

The vocal cord is a short (about 1cm long) band of tissue in the larynx (aka "voice box"). It is paired, so everyone has 2, and they are located just below the "adam's apple." when you breathe, they are separated from each other. When you speak, they come together while your lungs push air (like a bellows or bagpipe) past them, and they vibrate, like a reed on a clarinet. www.mainlineent.com.
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A paralyzed limb cannot be voluntarily moved, and the term reflects leg involvement, paraplegia, full body, quadriplegia, and less than full, tetraplegia. Causes can be many, including stroke, trauma, infection, congenital issues, etc.
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